Halloween, Alaska, this year's headliners

Enjoy music? There will be two stages for performances that you don’t want to miss. Each stage will alternate sets every 45 minutes starting at noon so you can listen to live music all afternoon. For bands and times check here.

Make sure to come hungry as there will be local restaurants serving food on carts: Moto-i, Falafel King, Herkimer, Galactic Pizza, and more. If it’s nice out, you may choose to eat on the patio of one of the near by places. For a list of local restaurants click here. http://lynlakestreetfestival.com/lynlake-restaurants/

If you have kids, it’s a perfect outing for the entire family. Head over to the Trustone Financial parking lot where there will be renaissance performers, jugglers, and other kid friendly activities.

For a Sunday event this is sure to be a smash! Take a look at the events website for more information at lynlakestreetfestival.com.

Like LynLake Street Festival on Facebook.
Follow @LynLkStFest on Twitter.

While Minnesotans might be about 1,838 miles away from hot and sunny Mexico, Cinco de Mayo festivals are still plentiful in the Twin Cities area this year. Historical fact: while many people think thatCinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s independence, it is actually the official date of the defeat of French forces in the town of Puebla in 1862. However, it is also a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.

There are several fun-filled fiestas planned for the 5th of May in the Twin Cities area.

Cinco de Mayo in the District del Sol

In the District del Sol in St. Paul, the Saint Paul Festival and Heritage Foundation is putting on a festival to celebrate. The party will include music, dancing, a low rider car show, kid’s activities, food, a parade, and more. The Fiesta will take place along Cesar Chavez Street in Westside St. Paul on Saturday, May 5th between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm.

Cinco de Mayo at El Nuevo Rodeo

El Nuevo Rodeo, the Latin dance club and restaurant on Lake Street in Minneapolis, has planned two full days of Cinco de Mayo festivities this year. First, on May 5th, the restaurant will provide a Mexican beer tasting, dancing, children’s activities, food and much more. All set to the lively tones of a Mariachi band, this portion of El Nuevo Rodeo’s Cinco de Mayo celebration will take place from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. On Sunday, May 6th, El Nuevo Rodeo will host a block party from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm, complete with two stages for music, dancing, and entertainment for the whole family.

Cinco de Mayo 8k Race

If eating and drinking isn’t your way of celebrating, don’t worry, you can join fellow runners at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis for a quick 8k run around the lake. The run begins at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 5th near the main beach on the west side of Lake Nokomis. For more information, visit http://www.runningventures.com/. Don’t forget to swing by the Pinata Party following a race!

Want to simply grab a bite of some great, authentic Mexican food to celebrate? You’re in luck! Minneapolis is nearly bursting at the seams with delicious Mexican restaurants. Here are just a few: Bar Abiline in Uptown, Pepitos in Minneapolis, La Poblanita along East Lake Street in south Minneapolis, and La Cucharacha in St. Paul. You could also try the eccentric Senor Wong, a Mexican.Asian fusion restaurant, in downtown St. Paul. You could also swing by the Latin American marketplace, Mercado Central, on East Lake Street, and visit one of the ten Mexican restaurants and bakeries there.

More information for all of these activities can be found at http://minneapolis.about.com/od/eventsfestivals/tp/cincodemayo.htm

Do you ever look at your walls and imagine great works of art hanging there?  Maybe you’ve even been to a few galleries, but walked away empty handed.

What if YOU could paint something fantastic? Picture your dinner party guests “Ooo-ing” and “Ahh-ing”  over a painting YOU created!  It could happen … what, you don’t believe me?

Well its true, even if you don’t know anything about art you can still own something wonderful made from your own two hands, AND have fun creating it!

Canvas and Cocktails Collide, provides a relaxed environment with step-by-step instructions on how to paint a featured painting!    There is also a wine bar/café to purchase beverages to sip while working on your masterpiece.
All you need is an opening in your calendar,  all the supplies (apron, canvas, paints, easel and brushes) are provided.   You can register yourself and a few friends,  paint the town red with a date or fly solo and make new friends!

The next scheduled painting date:
Thursday, April 26th
6:30pm-8:30pm
Rise & Wine
12501 Nicollet Ave
Burnsville, MN 55337 (map)

Cost: $35.00

Please check out Canvas and Cocktails full Schedule to find other dates.

Happy Painting!

More information at www.canvasandcocktailscollide.com
Like Canvas and Cocktails on Facebook.

As Minneapolitans and St. Paulites, we love our clean and beautiful green metro space. This Earth Day, honor our beautiful cities by getting out there and doing something great for Mother Earth!

Friday, April 20

Como Zoo’s Party for the Planet
Location: Como Zoo and Conservatory
1225 Estabrook Dr, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55103
Contact/Info: (651) 487-8200 / Como Zoo’s annual Party for the Planet
Time: 10am – 6pm
Cost : Free, donations accepted.

Como Park Zoo & Conservatory will celebrate Earth Day with a three-day Party for the Planet with a myriad of free activities focusing on fun, creative ways to save energy, money and the planet with plant and animal ambassadors, interactive games, creative crafts and more! Plants and animals are experts at conserving energy; follow their lead by visiting themed energy stations learning ways to reduce energy use at home while preserving habitats near and far.

Gastro Non Grata Pre-Earth Day Celebration: Yo Sweetness!
Location: The Triple Rock Social Club, 629 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, MN
Contact/Info: (612) 333-7399 / gastronongrata@gmail.com / www.triplerocksocialclub.com
Time: 8:30pm start
Cost: $8 advance, $12 day-of or at the door

Three desserts from the TCs’ best pastry chefs + music + booze. What more could you possibly need to know?

Pastry Chef Line-up:
Dunstan Pinlac of CAFE LEVAIN
Christian Aldrich of HAUTE DISH
Michelle Gayer of SALTY TART

MUSIC:
MICHAEL GAUGHAN: LITTLE DOG ON TOP OF BIG DOG
HEAVY DEEDS
THE CACTUS BLOSSOMS

BEER:
LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY

BONUS! Dead Meat Door Prize provided by CLANCEY’S MEATS AND FISH!

Saturday, April 21

Earth Day at Midtown Global Market with Do It Green! Minnesota
Location: 920 E. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55407
Contact: (612) 872-4041 / info@midtownglobalmarket.org / www.facebook.com/midtownglobalmarket / Earth Day at Midtown Global Market
Time: 11am – 3pm
Cost: Free

The Midtown Global Market’s annual Earth Day event includes music, demonstrations and interactive booths. Water Billboards has donated compostable serving ware for all food vendors, so when you eat at Midtown Global Market will also be participating in their Low Waste Day!

Visit booths from:
Nice Ride MN (www.niceridemn.org)
Kitchen in the Market (www.kitcheninthemarket.com)
Bag-E-Wash (www.bag-e-wash.com)
Chinook Book (www.msp.chinookbook.net)
Water Billboards (www.waterbillboards.com)
Community Action of Minneapolis (www.campls.org)
Master Gardener Theresa Rooney
Master Recycler/Composter Jeff Bender
Hennepin County

Minneapolis Earth Day Clean Up
Location: Find a 2012 Earth Day cleanup location near you
Contact/Info: For large volunteer groups, contact: 612-313-7778
Time: 9:30am – 12pm
Cost: Free

In the city ranked among the top ten most sustainable cities in the US, this annual cleanup is a tradition in Minneapolis. Gather to clean ‘n’ green on Saturday morning at your fave Minneapolis park, lake or the Mississippi River. Bags and cotton gloves are provided, though volunteers are encouraged to bring their own work gloves. No registration required, and every site has a coordinator to assist volunteers and to answer any questions.

Sunday, April 22

Minneapolis Recycle Run 5K
Location: Lake Harriet Bandshell, 4135 West Lake Harriet Parkway, Minneapolis, MN 55419
Contact: (612) 230-6400
Time: 8:45am – Free Kids’ Half Mile Run, 9am – Chip-timed 5K
Registration: Register Online or register on race day 7:45 am to 8:45 am at Lake Harriet Bandshell, 4135 Lake Harriet Parkway (5K only)
Cost: Free Kids’ Half Mile Run, 5K Run Online Pre-registered $30, Race Day $35

•   100% Organic cotton T-shirt included with registration
• First 1,000 registered participants receive TapMpls aluminum water bottle
• Kids’ Run participants will receive a tree sapling, provided by Cargill to take home and plant
• Recycle your used running shoes and shirts
• Benefits Minneapolis parks!

Wishes for the Sky
Location: Harriet Island, downtown St. Paul
Contact/Info:Facebook, www.wishesforthesky.org
Time: 11am – 5pm
Cost: Free, donations accepted

Wishes for the Sky is a free, experiential, public art event celebrating the arrival of spring, environmental sustainability, and personal and collective wish-making. This one-of-a-kind art project has become a signature Earth Day event for the Twin Cities. Inspired by the ancient Asian traditions of flying wishes on kites, it is a contemporary art event integrating music, temporary sculpture, poetry, interactive sound collage, visual art, and public kite-flying. Event takes place rain or shine!

Aveda 2012 Walk for Water
Location: Minnehaha Park Bandshell (next to Sea Salt Eatery), 4801 South Minnehaha Park Dr., Minneapolis, MN 55417
Time: registration 10am, 11am kick-off
Contact: www.facebook.com/Aveda / AvedaEarthMonthEvent@aveda.com
Cost: free, suggested donation of $20 to benefit Audubon Mississippi River Campaign

A hallmark of both Twin Cities business and environmental stewardship, Aveda has been in the business of caring for the earth since the late 70s. This year, Aveda’s Earth Month activities culminate at the 2012 Aveda Walk for Water on Earth Day, echoing the 2012 theme, “Kids Need Clean Water.” Local school groups will be in attendance displaying their drawings that illustrate what clean water means to them. The Walk will loop down River Parkway, extending six kilometers, symbolic of the average distance women in developing countries walk each day to collect water for their families.

This family- and pet-friendly event will also feature music, face painting and a coloring station for kids, as well as a pet prize drawing for Canines for Clean Water.

Are you engaged and love the Twins?  Do you and your partner dream of a wedding beyond expectations?  Would you like to get married at home plate?  Well, Target Field Events and JB Hudson want you to win their “Welcome Back to the Diamond” contest and make all your dreams come to life.

The wedding/commitment ceremony package is valued at more than $20,000, which includes a ring package from JB Hudson and a home plate wedding or commitment ceremony and reception package from Target Field Events.

You (or your engaged friends) can enter to win through JB Hudson’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/jbhudsonjewelers) now through May 13, 2012 by filling out a short form and uploading a picture of you and your sweetheart. A panelist of judges will select five couples from the online entries to be announced as finalists at the June 13 Twins vs. Phillies game.

Then it is up to the fans to decide who wins! On June 13, fans can log onto Facebook and vote for the best reception menu, wedding ring selection and Kiss Cam kiss!!  The winning couple will be unveiled at the June 29 Twins game.  Let the games begin!

In the wealthiest nation in the world, one in five children live in the shadow of hunger.  In a new documentary produced documentary produced by Food Network, Hunger Hits Home, audiences will get a first-hand look at the crisis of childhood hunger in America through the eyes of the people on the frontlines of the battle. Hunger Hits Home examines the causes, complications and misconceptions about childhood hunger in the United States and offers a glimpse at some of the innovative solutions being put into practice today.

Tune in to the Food Network on Saturday, April 14 at 7pm for this special presentation. For viewing guides, to donate, or information about other ways you can help, visit Food Network on the web and Twitter.

Ted Allen, Aarón Sanchez, Gina & Pat Neely, Brooke Johnson (President of Food Network), Alexandra Guarnaschelli, Amanda Freitag, Geoffrey Zakarian pose on the red carpet for the upcoming documentary "Hunger Hits Home" hosted by The Food Network at the Hearst Screening Room in New York on March 29, 2012. The film which premieres April 14th is part of The Foods Network's No Kid Hungry initiative in partnership with the Share Our Strength Foundation. Photo by Marion Curtis for Food Network.

Narrated by Oscar^®-winning actor and longtime anti-hunger activist Jeff Bridges, Hunger Hits Home is a heart-wrenching, yet empowering hour-long look at one of our nation’s little-known emergencies. An urgent call to action against this burgeoning crisis, the film is part of an ongoing partnership between Food Network and Share Our Strength, whose No Kid Hungry initiative aims to eradicate child hunger in America by surrounding children with nutritious food where they live, learn and play.

Hunger Hits Home goes on a cross-country odyssey from urban Washington, D.C. and New York City, to suburban Virginia, and the prosperous Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, giving viewers a bird’s-eye view of the hunger crisis through the lives of three hardworking families struggling to make ends meet.

Food Network is a unique lifestyle media outlet distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers’ best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. For more information, visit foodnetwork.com.

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting kids to the healthy food they need, every day. The No Kid Hungry campaign brings together public/private partnerships of political leaders, educators, corporations, chefs, parents, caretakers, faith leaders, anti-hunger activists, and others with strengths to share to end childhood hunger. For more information on the No Kid Hungry strategy to ensure kids have access to healthy food where they live, learn and play, visit NoKidHungry.org.

Being a beer aficionado and resident Twin Citian has it perks. Not only do we have several well-known breweries in and around the city (i.e. Summit Brewing Company – St. Paul, Schell’s – New Ulm, etc.), beer festivals sprout up at regular intervals. Upcoming on Saturday, April 7th is the first-ever Spring Ale Fest, which will be held in Northeast Minneapolis at the famed Ritz Theater. Why? To celebrate great local beer, of course!

The Spring Ale Fest will feature over 30 beers from 8 of Minnesota’s newest craft breweries, so head on over and celebrate the arrival of spring with an ice-cold brew! Currently, participating breweries include Brau Brothers, Barley John’s, Lucid, Harriet, Flat Earth and Dangerous Man.

Two sessions will be held over the course of the day, the first beginning at noon and going until 4 pm, and the second will run from 5 pm to 9 pm. Must be 21 to enter.

COST: $30 in advance, $40 at the door
Get your tickets here!

Designated drivers tickets are going to be available the day of the festival for $15 per designated driver.

For more info, visit springalefest.com.
Like Spring Ale Fest on Facebook.
Follow @SpringAleFest on Twitter.

*Attendees will receive a souvenir glass used to enjoy unlimited samples of all the different brewer’s beer at the Spring Ale Fest. There will be live music, food trucks, and a raffle with prizes given away. For more information on the Spring Ale Fest, call 1.888.506.1276 or email info@springalefest.com or connor@bluebirdguidedtours.com.

The Ritz Theater
345 13th Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
(612) 436-1129
http://www.ritzdolls.com

The wonderful early spring this year in the Twin Cities has been a welcome relief after last year’s harsh winter. Fortunate as we are to be outdoors and free of snow, it’s still not the tropics.

If you’re still longing for some color and the sweet scents of summer, head to downtown to Macy’s Flower Show, and experience a bold, lush world inspired by Carnaval, the samba pulse of Rio de Janeiro, and the vibrant Amazon rainforest plants and flowers of Brasil.

Brasil: Gardens in Paradise by Bachman’s runs now through April 7, and is free to the public. A Bachman’s Master Gardener will be available each day to answer questions about the flora in the show, and provide information about what you can grow in your own backyard.

Macy’s 8th Floor Auditorium
700 On the Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402

Macy’s is open daily 10-8, 12-6 on Sundays.

Visit macys.com or bachmans.com for info about the show, floral designers, in-store events, dining, promotional tie-ins, hours, and more.

You can also find Macy’s on Facebook and Twitter.

In partnership with Bachman’s for 48 years, Macy’s Flower Show has delighted generations of floral aficionados with spectacular presentations of gardens that showcase millions of live flowers, plants, and trees from around the globe.